American Communal Societies Quarterly

Volume 11 Number 1 Pages 53-55

January 2017

Yule-tide Meditations.

Ezra J. Stewart

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This work is made available by Hamilton College for educational and research purposes under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. For more information, visit http://digitalcommons.hamilton.edu/about.html or contact [email protected]. Stewart: Yule-tide Meditations St. Cloud Tribune, 1, no. 16 (December 23, 1909). Yule-tide Meditations.

As Christmas approaches it is but natural that we should begin to think of the festivities which have accompanied the celebration of this day thruout Christendom for so many centuries. A season of great rejoicing, of general good-will, the Christmas holidays mean to many a man and woman the only real time of relaxation and enjoyment thruout the year. “And well our Christmas sires of old Loved when the year its course had rolled, And brought blithe Christmas back again, With all his hospitable train.” It is, often said that “man’s necessity is God’s opportunity,” and this thought stimulates the mind to contemplate the vast opportunity, the great privilege vouchsafed to those who have both the will and the means to dispense with liberal hand the good things of life for the comfort and enjoyment of others. Since it is more blessed to give than to receive, there is every reason that all should participate in Christmas giving, if only by cheering the neighbor with some simple form of service. The celebration of the Christmas festival, instituted some time during the first century of our era, in commemoration of the birth of Jesus, serves to perpetuate the Christ ideal in the heart of professed Christians. Christmas should contain for them a deeper meaning than mere physical pleasure. Yule-tide festivities should convey to their minds something of the profound, the universal love, which was manifested to the world thru such marvelous self-sacrifice 1,900 years ago. Practical brotherhood instituted by one who taught his disciples to “love one another,” becomes a working possibility only to the extent that Christians are willing to sacrifice self in the endeavor to follow their Master. The love of God leads inevitably to the sacrifice of inferior ideals, of selfish impulses for the attainment of the Christ– ideal loving and serving the neighbor as one’s self. And when it is remembered that we are all children of one Father and Mother, dependent upon the mercy and goodness of God for our subsistence, does it not seem the part of wisdom that we should, by sharing with each other the blessings of life, cement and perpetuate that bond of union which an allwise Providence so earnestly desires for our welfare? Under the influence of the Christmas impulse there are those who are inspired to extend good cheer, to give out of their abundance a helping hand to others less fortunate than themselves; liberal Christmas givers, who might not at other seasons of the year think of dividing with the

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neighbor. Undoubtedly the act of sharing holiday joy and merriment with others tends to helpfulness in sharing one another’s every-day burdens; it leads to a realization of the blessedness of giving. It may be a trite saying, albeit a true One, that, “he who causes even one blade of grass to grow where before there was none is a benefactor to the race.” In like manner he who by the exhibition of a liberal, unselfish spirit arouses hope in the lonely, despondent heart sets in motion a force which will redound to his own good and which may constitute untold benefit to humanity as a whole. To help others to help themselves is certainly good religion. That persons who are able should strive to produce something useful for the universal good is rapidly becoming an established American ideal; even people of wealth and possible leisure are nowadays impressed with the soundness of such doctrine, and many of this class devote themselves to the common weal. The Christmas ideal is deep-rooted; it springs from the age-honored brotherhood ideal. from the innermost depths of human aspiration and longing. In Northern climes this great festival Season, coming at a time of year when outward nature is clothed in frozen mantles of snow and ice, unusual efforts are put forth to enliven the fireside, to enhance the pleasure of indoor enjoyments. In the South, where Dame Nature is pleased to retain her more brilliant garments thruout the entire year, Yule-tide pleasures usually take the form of healthful outdoor activities. In South Florida life in the open is an ever-present reality–a continual feast. Here all Nature constantly smiles in colors of green and purple and gold; here the fleecy, golden-tinted clouds, floating thru the azure skies, reveal their silver lining well nigh the whole year thru. Many of the veterans and others who have gathered at St. Cloud from every State in the Union will this year experience for the first time the novel and altogether delightful pleasure of celebrating Christmas ’midst an environment entirely devoid of snow and ice. Out of the cold and storms of Northern Winters these people have come to St. Cloud with the determination to build a city which, because of its beauty and adaptability as an inland Winter resort, will attract and hold a large proportion of the multitudes who yearly flock to Florida for recreation and health. Under new conditions and among new friends it is often possible to realize the fruition of hopes long cherished as dreams too good to come true. Emerson says: “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” May the people of St. Cloud become a unit in establishing and perpetuating

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a city which shall stand pre-eminent for civic righteousness–first among the many delightful cities of Florida. Beautiful for situation, greatly favored in matters of climate and healthfulness, St. Cloud requires merely the impetus which liberal-hearted men alone can give a town in order to become one of the finest cities in the while South. Having easy access to an extensive inland waterway reaching from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico–thru the entire length of the Peninsula–there is no good reason why St. Cloud should not in a few years develop into a magnificent city capable of entertaining the hosts of Winter tourists who naturally belong to such a place. May this first Christmas at the new town be a season of enjoyment to all, a time for laying the foundation of strong, enduring friendships, friendships which shall make for the upbuilding of universal brotherhood. With Tennyson, let “Each man find his own in all men’s good, And all men in noble brotherhood.” This is the Christmas gift which the writer would sincerely desire for each and eyery one at St. Cloud. —Ezra J. Stewart, Shaker Colony.

St. Cloud Tribune, 1, no. 16 (December 23, 1909). The Shakers are now supplying their table with fresh fish caught with a short trot line–125 feet long and carrying 28 hooks. It is planned to increase the length of the trot line to 400 feet with a capacity of 100 hooks. This longer line can be attended to with about the same expense for time and labor as a shorter one, with greatly increased fishing possibilities.

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